Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dear Official:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, The Protect
Democracy Project hereby requests that your office produce within 20 business days the
following records (see below for clarity on the types of records sought):
(1) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between and among employees of the Department of Health and Human
Services (“HHS”) Office of the Secretary and/or Office of Public Affairs and/or the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) Office of the Administrator and/or
Office of Communications concerning the decision to discontinue advertising for
healthcare.gov and/or enrollment in healthcare coverage. The timeframe for this request
is January 20, 2017 through February 1, 2017.
(2) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between the HHS and/or CMS transition teams and the White House
concerning the decision to discontinue advertising for healthcare.gov and/or enrollment
in healthcare coverage. The timeframe for this request is January 20, 2017 through
February 1, 2017.
(3) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between and among employees of the HHS Office of the Secretary
(4) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between and among employees of the HHS Office of Public Affairs
and/or CMS Offices of Communications concerning the article published by Politico on
January 26, 2017 entitled, “Trump White House Abruptly Halts Obamacare Ads.”
(5) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between and among employees in the HHS Office of the Secretary
and/or HHS Office of Public Affairs and/or CMS Office of the Administrator and/or
CMS Office of Communications concerning the number of people who enrolled in
healthcare coverage after President Trump took office, which CMS made public on
February 3, 2017. CMS reported that approximately 200,000 Americans signed up for
coverage in the final two weeks of the open enrollment period. The time-frame for this
request is January 20, 2017 through February 6, 2017.
(6) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between HHS and/or CMS employees and the White House concerning
the number of people who enrolled in healthcare coverage after President Trump took
office, which CMS made public on February 3, 2017. CMS reported that approximately
200,000 Americans signed up for coverage in the final two weeks of the open enrollment
period. The time-frame for this request is January 20, 2017 through February 6, 2017.
FEE WAIVER
FOIA provides that a waiver of fees associated with a request is waived if “disclosure of
the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public
understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the
commercial interest of the requester.” 5 U.S.C 552(1)(4)(A)(iii). The core mission of The
Protect Democracy Project, a new organization awaiting 501(c)(3) status, is to inform public
consort with the organization’s mission to gather and dissimilate information that is likely to
The Protect Democracy Project has no commercial interest, and releasing the contents of the
requested documents for public consumption is not in the financial interest of the organization.
In addition to satisfying requirements for a waiver of fees associated with the search and
processing of records, The Protect Democracy Project is entitled to a waiver in duplication costs.
Federal law mandates a waiver of document duplication costs for requesters that qualify as a
representative of the news media. The Protect Democracy Project, a new organization formed in
December 2016, emerges in the tradition of 501(c)(3) good government organizations that
qualify under FOIA as “news media organizations.” Like these organizations, the purpose of The
public, use its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into distinct work, and distribute that work
to an audience.” Cf National Security Archive v. Department of Defense, 880 F.2d 1381, 1387
(D.C. Cir. 1989). We intend to give the public access to documents transmitted via FOIA on our
RESPONSIVE RECORDS
We ask that all types of records and all record systems be searched to discover records
responsive to our request. We seek records in all medium and format. This includes, but is not
limited to: agendas, manifests, calendars, schedules, notes, and any prepared documentation for
e-mails; e-mail attachments; talking points; faxes; facsimiles; training documents and guides;
table of contents and content of binders; documents pertaining to instruction and coordination of
record, including electronic, in use at your agency. The Protect Democracy Project would prefer
records in electronic format, saved as PDF documents, and transmitted via email or CD-rom.
If you make a determination that any responsive record, or any segment within a record,
is exempt from disclosure, we ask that you provide an index of those records at the time you
transmit all other responsive records. In the index, please include a description of the record and
the reason for exclusion with respect to each individual exempt record or exempt portion of a
record, as provided by Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 415 U.S.
977 (1974). When you deem a portion of a record exempt, we ask for the remainder of the record
or (404) 819-1630 if you require any additional information. We appreciate your cooperation,
Sincerely,
Ian Bassin
Executive Director
The Protect Democracy Project
12/15/2017
Ian Bassin
The Protect-Democracy Project
PO Box 170521
Brooklyn, NY 11217
This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. §552) request of
2/27/2017, which you sent to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Within your
correspondence, you requested the following:
(1) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between and among employees of the Department of Health and Human
Services ("HHS") Office of the Secretary and/or Office of Public Affairs and/or the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") Office of the Administrator and/or Office of
Communications concerning the decision to discontinue advertising for healthcare.gov and/or
enrollment in healthcare coverage. The timeframe for this request is January 20, 2017 through
February 1, 2017.
(2) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between the HHS and/or CMS transition teams and the White House
concerning the decision to discontinue advertising for healthcare.gov and/or enrollment in
healthcare coverage. The timeframe for this request is January 20, 2017 through February 1,
2017.
(3) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between and among employees of the HHS Office of the Secretary and/or HHS
Office of Public Affairs and/or CMS Office of the Administrator and/or CMS Office of
Communications concerning the effect of the Trump Administration's decision to discontinue the
advertising detailed above on enrollment numbers. The timeframe for this request is January 20,
2017 through February 1, 2017.
(4) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between and among employees of the HHS Office of Public Affairs and/or
CMS Offices of Communications concerning the article published by Politico on January 26,
2017 entitled, ''Trump White House Abruptly Halts Obamacare Ads."
(5) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between and among employees in the HHS Office of the Secretary and/or HHS
Office of Public Affairs and/or CMS Office of the Administrator and/or CMS Qffice of
Communications concerning the number of people who enrolled in healthcare coverage after
President Trump took office, which CMS made public on February 3, 2017. CMS reported that
approximately 200,000 Americans signed up for coverage in the final two weeks of the open
enrollment period. The time-frame for this request is January 20, 2017 through February 6, 2017.
(6) All formal and informal documents, including but not limited to email communications
and memoranda, between HHS and/or CMS employees and the White House concerning the
number of people who enrolled in healthcare coverage after President Trump took office, which
CMS made public on February 3, 2017. CMS reported that approximately 200,000 Americans
signed up for coverage in the final two weeks of the open enrollment period. The time-frame for
this request is January 20, 2017 through February 6, 2017.
On 9/8/2017 we provided 237 responsive pages. On further review, we have decided to release
bates stamped pages 0032, 0047, 0230, and 0231 to you in full and 0046 in part. We are
releasing bates stamped pages 0238, 0239, 0240, and 0241 bringing the full responsive pages to
241. After careful review of these pages I have determined to release them to you, as
enclosed. One page is released to you in its entirety. However, I am denying you access to
portions of three pages pursuant to Exemption 5 (5 U.S.C. §552(b)(5)) and Exemption 6 (5
U.S.C. §552(b)(6)) of the FOIA.
If you believe that the information withheld should not be exempt from disclosure, or
this response constitutes an adverse determination, you may appeal. By filing an
appeal, you preserve your rights under FOIA and give the agency a chance to review
and reconsider your request and the agency’s decision.
Your appeal must be mailed within 90 days from the date of receipt of this letter, to:
Please clearly mark both the envelope and your letter “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”
If you would like to discuss our response before filing an appeal to attempt to resolve your
dispute without going through the appeals process, you may contact Josh Phillips OR the CMS
FOIA Public Liaison for assistance at:
Joseph Tripline
CMS FOIA Public Liaison
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Blvd., MS N2-20-16
Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850
Telephone: (410) 786-5353 fax (443)-380-7260
If you are unable to resolve your FOIA dispute through our CMS FOIA Public Liaison, the
Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), the Federal FOIA Ombudsman’s office,
offers mediation services to help resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal
agencies. The contact information for OGIS is:
Telephone: 202-741-5770
Toll-Free: 1-877-684-6448
E-mail: ogis@nara.gov
Fax: 202-741-5769
Sincerely yours,
Hugh Gilmore
Director
Freedom of Information Group
Enclosure
deadlines and inbound traffic increases this capacity is limited to preserve a positive
customer experience. Currently we are planning to use 550,000 calls per weekday for
autodial (automated message) and 200,000 calls for agent connect (which is a message
that allows for a warm transfer to an agent). Outbound calls (including autodial and
agent connect) are listed as to be determined from Friday 1/27 leading up to the
deadline based on the volume the call center can support given increasing inbound
traffic.
3. Blog: “Last chance for 2017 health insurance: January 31” – Appendix II
• Description: This blog posting is slated to be posted on the evening of Friday, January
27, 2017 on HealthCare.gov/blog, as part of a routine content update. Since June 2013,
new blogs have been posted regularly, generally weekly during Open Enrollment and
less frequently outside of Open Enrollment. The goal of the blog is to highlight and
amplify information that is contained elsewhere on informational pages throughout the
site, at points in time when that content is most relevant. The blog provides consumers
using the site with an alternate entry point to specific content. The readership is
consistently small, as most HealthCare.gov users navigate through the informational
content via other paths within the site. Archives of previous blog posts are available on
the site and users aren't able to comment on the blogs.
• Deadline for Review: Thursday, January 26, 2017.
CMS0032
See below for awareness and sharing with CCIIO.
From: Lloyd, Matt (HHS/IOS)
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2017 4:24 PM
To: Bradley, Tasha (OS/ASPA); Murphy, Ryan (HHS/IOS); Trueman, Laura (HHS/IOS)
Cc: Weber, Mark (HHS/ASPA); Hall, Bill (HHS/ASPA)
Subject: RE: HealthCare.gov ads
(b)(5)
CMS0046
From: Bradley, Tasha (OS/ASPA)
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2017 4:20 PM
To: Lloyd, Matt (HHS/IOS); Murphy, Ryan (HHS/IOS); Trueman, Laura (HHS/IOS)
Cc: Weber, Mark (HHS/ASPA); Hall, Bill (HHS/ASPA)
Subject: FW: HealthCare.gov ads
Flagging this inquiry from Oregon’s Health Insurance Marketplace. Generally, this
would be handled by CCIIO, but they don’t have any talking points and would like some
assistance in responding to Elizabeth.
From: Black, Nicole L. (CMS/OC)
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2017 3:45 PM
To: Bradley, Tasha (OS/ASPA)
Subject: FW: HealthCare.gov ads
Shelby and Nicole, can you please send to the appropriate person?
+Aaron, Kelly
Tks,
LSokol
We’re getting conflicting reports on whether these will continuing running before
the end of open enrollment.
Elizabeth Cronen
Communications and Legislative Manager
Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace
503-569-8171
elizabeth.m.cronen@oregon.gov
CMS0047
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop B3-30-03
Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850
Elevation, LTD
1027 33rd Street NW, Suite #260
Washington, DC 20007
Subject: GS-07F-0406T/HHSM-500-2014-00416G
Clarification
This correspondence provides further clarification on the partial termination letter dated January
26, 2017 notifying Elevation to immediately stop work on all external marketing activities
related to the Health Insurance Marketplace’s fourth Open Enrollment period under GS-07F-
0406T/HHSM-500-2014-00416G.
Specifically, our further instructions on the partial termination are as follows: Tactics including
email and SMS marketing, outbound call marketing and earned media, should be resumed. If
cancelling other paid media activities will result in a cost savings, CMS is requesting that the
Contractor proceed with the termination as instructed. If cancelling other paid media activities
will not result in a cost savings because, for example, no refund is available or a cancellation
penalty or other charge exceeds any cost savings, the Contractor is instructed to continue with
that specific advertising.
Should you have any questions regarding this correspondence, please do not hesitate to
contact the Contracting Officer, Heather Robertson at 410-786-6888 or
heather.robertson@cms.hhs.gov.
Sincerely,
Digitally signed by Heather
Heather M. M. Robertson -S
Heather Robertson
Contracting Officer
CMS0230
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop B3-30-03
Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850
Subject: HHSM-500-2011-00029I/HHSM-500-T0008
Clarification
This correspondence provides further clarification on the partial termination letter dated January
26, 2017 notifying Weber Shandwick to immediately stop work on all external marketing
activities related to the Health Insurance Marketplace’s fourth Open Enrollment period under
HHSM-500-2011-00029I/HHSM-500-T0008.
Specifically, our further instructions on the partial termination are as follows: Tactics including
email and SMS marketing, outbound call marketing and earned media, should be resumed. If
cancelling other paid media activities will result in a cost savings, CMS is requesting that the
Contractor proceed with the termination as instructed. If cancelling other paid media activities
will not result in a cost savings because, for example, no refund is available or a cancellation
penalty or other charge exceeds any cost savings, the Contractor is instructed to continue with
that specific advertising.
Should you have any questions regarding this correspondence, please do not hesitate to
contact the Contracting Officer, Heather Robertson at 410-786-6888 or
heather.robertson@cms.hhs.gov.
Sincerely,
Digitally signed by Heather
Heather M. M. Robertson -S
Date: 2017.01.27 13:35:47
Robertson -S -05'00'
Heather Robertson
Contracting Officer
CMS0231
From Coverage to Care is an initiative to help people with new health care coverage
understand their benefits and connect to primary care and the preventive services that are right for
them, so they can live a long and healthy life.
Today, CMS issued a blog about the upcoming January 31st Marketplace Open Enrollment
Deadline. ~ Thank you.
CMS BLOG
https://blog.cms.gov/2017/01/27/mark-your-calendars-january-31st-is-quickly-approaching/
If you still need health coverage for 2017, you have until January 31st to sign up for coverage
through HealthCare.gov. Through the website you can review your choices and see if you qualify for
financial help. Issuers have confirmed that consumers who select a plan and pay their first premium
will have coverage for 2017. And, insurers have signed contracts to provide coverage through 2017.
Consumers who want coverage – whether you are new to the Health Insurance Marketplace or have
previously enrolled in health coverage – can visit HealthCare.gov, update your information, or add it
for the first time, and select a plan. You may also compare plans online or on your mobile device.
You can review the core plan features like cost-sharing and provider networks.
When you log onto HealthCare.gov, you need three pieces of information – your zip code, family
size, and household income – to see what plans are available to you and to get an estimate of how
much the plans cost. If you had coverage through HealthCare.gov for 2016, you can come back to
update your information and compare your options for 2017. If you have questions or want to talk
CMS_0238
through your options with a trained professional, enrollment specialists are available all day, every
day, at 1-800-318-2596. Free, confidential, in-person assistance is also available at enrollment sites
and events in your state. Visit localhelp.healthcare.gov to find assistance in your community.
Materials attached:
Blog (PDF)
Keya Joy-Bush
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
Media Relations Group
((202)) 690- 7702 Direct
( )( )
(b)(6)
(202) 690- 6145 Media Office
Keya.joy-bush@cms.hhs.gov
CMS_0239
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
7500 Security Boulevard, Mail Stop B3-30-03
Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850
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Date: 2017.01.26 19:44:38
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Digitally signed by
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Date: 2017.01.26 19:26:02
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